Banksy

Also Known As: Robert Banks, Robin Gunningham

Date of Birth: January 1, 1900Hometown: Bristol, United KingdomBest Quotes:

“Your mind is working at its best when you're being paranoid. You explore every avenue and possibility of your situation at high speed with total clarity.”

“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

“A wall is a very big weapon. It's one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with.”

Banksy is an England-based non-conformist graffiti artist, painter, film director and political activist.

Bio: Banksy is a pseudonymous UK-based graffiti artist, painter, film director and political activist. His identity is unknown but many people believe he could be either Robert Banks and Robin Gunningham. Banksy is the son of a photocopier technician, and he trained as a butcher before taking an interest in graffiti during the Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s. Banksy displays his art on visible surfaces such as public walls, and he sometimes builds physical prop pieces for his work. Although he does not sell photos of his street graffiti himself, art auctioneers are known for attempting to sell his art on location, leaving the problem of removal up to the buyer.

Best Known For:
Banksy is known for his street art in the Bristol Underground Scene. His work includes graffiti, sculpture, satire and social commentary.

Personal Life:
Banksy was inspired by local artists and his art was part of the larger Bristol Underground scene. He began as a freehand graffiti artist in 1990-1994. By the year 2000, he decided to turn to the art of stenciling because it saved him time.